Mr. Clarke of
Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure

A BILL

To provide for the establishment, in the Office of
Pavement Technology of the Federal Highway Administration, of the position of
Recovered Mineral Component Ombudsman.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Sustainable, Livable And Green
(S.L.A.G.) Highway Construction Act of 2012.

2.

Recovered Mineral
Component Ombudsman; procurement guidelines

(a)

Recovered
Mineral Component Ombudsman position

The Secretary of Transportation shall
establish in the Office of Pavement Technology of the Federal Highway
Administration the position of Recovered Mineral Component Ombudsman.

(b)

Duties of
Ombudsman

The duties of the
Recovered Mineral Component Ombudsman shall include—

(1)

acting as a liaison between the States and
the Department of Transportation on federally funded highway projects;

(2)

encouraging States to use recovered mineral
component (referred to in this Act as RMCs) to drive down costs
and be more environmentally sensitive; and

(3)

providing information on—

(A)

the safety of
using RMCs;

(B)

data on projects
that use RMCs; and

(C)

training and
educational seminars on the environmental benefits, and on the cost saving
benefits, of using RMCs through partnerships with the RMC industry groups
supported by the Administration.

(c)

Definition

For
purposes of this section, the term recovered mineral components
and RMCs means—

(1)

ground granulated
blast furnace slag;

(2)

blast furnace slag
aggregate;

(3)

steel furnace slag
aggregate; and

(4)

any other industry co-product or recovered
by-product the Federal Highway Administrator in consultation with an agency
head, determines should be treated as recovered mineral component under this
section for uses in asphalt or concrete projects paid for, in whole or by part,
by such agency.

(d)

Comprehensive
procurement guidelines

The
Secretary of Transportation is encouraged to amend the comprehensive
procurement guidelines applicable to federally related asphalt and concrete
projects to include specifications that encourage the use of ground granulated
blast furnace slag, blast furnace slag aggregate, and steel furnace slag
aggregate.

(e)

Environmental
standards

Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency shall establish
standards to ensure that the use of RMCs does not violate the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) or any other environmental
law.